In college, we are told that we are adults; grown-up, self-sufficient (once Barone’s food gets tiring), involved in our own activities with new friends, no bedtime and no parents to answer to. If I wanted to never sleep a minute for the next week, I would be free to do so; if I wanted to live in the bushes down by the Dolan School of Business, that might also be acceptable, provided that I’m hidden well enough to escape Public Safety’s eyes; if I wanted to, I technically could never have to write another paper again in my life …except I would be at Bergen Community College next semester.
And yet with these (new) adult choices regarding my future, my career and my social life, Fairfield makes me go to class – every single one, with little to no exception of forgiveness or redemption – eerily similar to the death penalty.
According to the Student Handbook, “All students are expected to attend every class session. The impact of attendance on grading is specified in the syllabus of each course.” Okay, that’s fair enough. We’re spending over $53,000 to be here, so it’s safe to assume that the administration believes that we should attend every class, notebook in hand and minds open, ready to be filled with knowledge. For the majority of situations, that is indeed the case. Students attend class willing to do the required class work and homework, ready to receive credit towards graduation and the ever-elusive 4.0 GPA.
However, the following sentence in the Handbook stirs up more controversy. “Unexcused absences by first-year students may be reported to the dean; unexcused absences by other students may be reported to the appropriate academic dean.”
Fairfield has just told me that not going to my morning class because I have a migraine could cause a letter bearing my name, to be placed on the dean’s desk. If I decide to venture up to the Health Center, then and only then, could I be excused. However, they would have no proof that I indeed had a migraine, which leaves open the possibility that I would not be excused from school.
How is it fair that we must attend every single class? All of us are college students, preparing for a life in which all decisions have some sort of impact on our life. Dealing with the consequences of our decisions is a core facet of the college experience; actions such as not going to class will likely lead to the consequence of a terrible grade, just as playing that last round of Pong when you’ve been losing all night will most likely end with you curled up in a ball around the toilet when you wake up.
When we all went off to college, we looked forward to acting like adults, but also being treated as such. If we decide that we could only attend one of three weekly classes but could still wind up getting an A in the class, theoretically a letter could be on the dean’s desk.
Brendan Spearing ’14 says, “We pay [tuition]. We are adults, and we should be able to do as we please.” I heartily agree with Brendan. Although I’m a freshman and have been at college for only a little over a month, I’ve been given a chance to prove that I am aware of the consequences of my actions and trust that I make the right ones.
Whether I pay $20,000 at Rutgers or $54,000 at Fairfield, I pay the tuition thinking that the school trusts me to make good decisions for myself. By forcing students to go to class, Fairfield demonstrates that they do not trust us to make these correct decisions. Fairfield should loosen up the policies on attendance — we Stags are adults and expect to be treated as such. Our own personal drive to achieve should be the major factor in our decisions to go to class – not a letter on the dean’s desk with our names on them.
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